Years and Years
by wirenoose
Summary: (The Adventure Zone) He knew, from the moment he met them at the Institute, the moment he met him on the train, these humans would die long before him. He knew, and he still held them close to his heart anyhow. Such concepts as death mean nothing when one has cycled through a hundred lives. But what now? (Warning: Major Character Deaths)


Yo, taakitz is a thing but it's not the focus of the story, so that's that. Anyway, this was born out of me sitting down and looking at the lifespans for dnd races and thinking 'hey, Taako's gonna outlive his family, let's do something with that'

* * *

He can deny it all he wants, can ignore the signs. He's good at that.

But it doesn't change anything.

He was at the Hammer and Tails once, some years ago, to pick up Carey for a shopping trip. He'd stopped by Magnus' office to say hello, only to find the other man fast asleep at his desk, Johann at his side standing watch. The dog recognized Taako of course, so he didn't cause a scene and wake Magnus up. Steven was there too, swimming about. He floated over to Taako, close enough to nuzzle against his cheek through the glass.

But that visit gave him the opportunity to look Magnus over without the other putting up some kind of front.

Magnus had stopped accumulating scars, apparently having traded them for wrinkles. His hair was more salt than pepper, his sideburns even more unkempt than ever. As he breathed in, something rattled about in his chest.

Taako spun on his heel and left, regrouping with Carey out front.

It's still hard.

The seven of them get together fairly often, though Taako often has to be coerced into attending. Magnus isn't as lively. Sure, he laughs just as loud, smiles just as bright, but when Lup offers him her hand to dance, he declines, claiming he's a bit tired and that he's more than comfortable in his seat.

Merle pulls Taako aside during one of their get togethers, tries to anyway. Taako's a slippery son of a bitch, and he knows what Merle is going to tell him.

Magnus falls while he's walking Johann. Taako's with him, so is Lup. She frantically contacts Merle through a stone of farspeech while Taako keeps Magnus awake with low effort banter. Johann almost doesn't let Merle anywhere near Magnus but Taako manages to calm him down. He holds the dog while Merle works his magic and soon enough, Magnus is right as rain.

It's different after that.

Whenever Taako comes to visit, they sit in Magnus' office, Johann at the latter's side, always. Magnus gushes about his dogs, about their adoptions, he gushes about Steven, how the little fish finally learned the trick Magnus has been trying to teach him for months.

Taako doesn't come around as often as he used to and he tells himself it's because he's busy. The school takes work, he teaches the occasional class, checks in with Ren on a weekly basis. He holds press events, manages charities, runs his show, and pops in to bother Angus.

He's a busy elf.

When he and Kravitz got married, of course it was an extravagant event. Magnus came dressed to the nines, a handmade cane collapsed and strapped to his belt beside Steven. After his first dance with Kravitz, and a dance with Lup, Taako pulled Magnus onto the dance floor with him, watching for any sign of fatigue from his friend.

They'd finished the dance but Magnus stayed seated for the rest of the night, nursing a single glass of champagne as he traded jokes back and forth with Carey and Lucretia.

Taako can't ignore it anymore.

His friend is dying.

He knows the difference between human and elf lifespans is vast. Maybe the one hundred years on the Starblaster had warped his thinking on that particular subject matter. If one of them died, it was okay, they'd come back. It came with a sense of invincibility, ruined their sense of consequence, made some of them foolhardy. What point is there in playing it safe when you're guaranteed another shot during the next go around? Death became abstract. Those hundred years neutralized the lifespan difference between them, they were ageless, they didn't have to worry about losing each other or outliving each other by a hundred years more.

With all the magic available to them, it seems absurd that humans can't extend their years. Human though he may be, Barry is a lich, his human lifespan negated by that fact. The only other human is Lucretia, and that's another story entirely.

Kravitz tells him not to worry, he'll see Magnus again eventually. Connected as he is, death isn't the final stop for Taako and those closest to him.

But it's not his own death he's worried about.

Merle and Davenport are already old, and given that Lup and Barry are technically already dead, soon enough, Taako's going to be the last living member of his family.

He gets drunk one night in the comfort of his own home, Magnus having come round for a visit. Taako spills his fears and worries, body warm and light with wine.

Magnus is kind enough not to say anything the next time they meet up.

When the time comes, the lot of them are gathered around Magnus' bed.

Taako isn't the first to break down, that prize goes to Carey, but he's a close second. He cries silently into Lup's shoulder, Barry's hand on his arm, Angus hugging him tight from behind.

Then, Magnus dies.

There's no silence. It's not just Taako and Carey then. Angus lets out a few sobs, Lucretia covers her mouth to hold back whimpers but tears pour down her face. Merle and Davenport both sniffle as their eyes go glassy and Barry nearly chokes as he starts to cry. Lup wraps her arms around Taako, and Angus too by extension, and her tears fall into Taako's hair.

Taako's not sure how long they stay there, only that Davenport eventually clears his throat and starts talking.

Later that night, Kravitz tells him about Julia, about how happy Magnus is in the Astral plane.

It's not until the next morning that Taako finds Steven resting atop a pile of clothes on the vanity.

The next day, Carey shows up, eyes red, with a box in hand.

"Me 'n Dav went through Mags' will, this stuff is for you," she says when Taako waves her inside.

She was a mess when Killian died, and now that Magnus is gone, she looks even worse. Her scales have lost their color and she moves with far less grace than she used to. Taako gets the feeling she's on her way out as well.

"We couldn't find Steven- oh."

As she sits down at the kitchen table, Steven floats down the hall, coming to hover at Carey's face, nuzzling against her snout for a moment before settling on the tabletop.

"What about Steven?" Taako asks.

"Magnus left him to you."

* * *

Taako doesn't bother questioning how Steven is still alive, but the little fish shows no sign of aging. He sticks close to Taako, first hovering at his hip as if to mimic the position he held with Magnus. After a few days, he finds a new resting place on Taako's hat. Barry makes a magically extending tether so Steven won't get lost.

No one says anything about his new companion, but that's all right.

He goes bar hopping with Merle and, every time they sit down, Steven floats off Taako's hat and rests on the table in front of the empty chair between them. They keep their comments to themselves, raise their cups in Steven's direction, and down the contents in one go.

Taako makes sure Merle gets home, and he stays just long enough to say goodnight to Merle's daughter, who'd apparently stayed up to wait for her dad. She thanks Taako for making sure he arrived safely, then gives him a hug and wishes him well.

Steven bubbles the whole way home, swimming in lazy circles within his ball before rolling off Taako's hat. He floats so he stays pressed to Taako's chest.

"I know, little guy," Taako says. "It's different."

* * *

Taako sends her gifts, not quite apologies, they both know this isn't a guilt based thing. He's forgiven her, to an extent, by this point, and he's not eager to see her go before they've made some kind of amends.

Usually it's books, stories he thinks she'd enjoy. He's taken up tinkering as a hobby, and Angus helps him make a special pair of glasses when Lucretia's vision starts to go. He grows her a garden for Candlenights, enchanted flowers that won't wither.

They talk sometimes, but never about the past. Lucretia asks him about his school, he asks her how she's feeling. For the most part, she responds with something along the lines of "I've had better days" but she remains rather upbeat.

He wants to tell her, let her know that he's not angry with her. He's hurt, still, but he's not mad at her. She's still the quiet human girl who spent the first leg of their hundred year journey as a wallflower. She's still the little sister despite the heavy burden she put on her own shoulders.

Taako wishes that words were easy.

It startles all of them. They're at Lucretia's house, her first birthday celebration since Magnus' d-

She looks up upon their entry, and for a split second, they can see it in her eyes.

She doesn't know who they are.

After that it just gets worse.

Lucretia doesn't forget again, but she gets confused. She asks about Magnus a lot, and asks Taako why his face looks different. She asks about Merle's arm and his eye and she asks about Magnus again. The memories blur together. She apologizes for making them forget in the same breath she asks about the press briefing. Davenport walks her around the Starblaster and she asks if Magnus has taken Fisher to a library recently.

After a few years, she's on bed rest, too weak to move. She's lucid more often, which is good, but Taako can see the life draining out of her. They rotate their visits, figuring out that it takes too much out of her if they visit her as a group. Mostly they'll read to her, or catch her up with whatever they've been busy doing. Whenever Taako visits, Steven rests on her stomach, she always seems a little brighter when he comes along, so Taako brings him every time.

The night she passes, she's with Davenport, the two discussing a book. He calls what remains of their family to let them know. He says that she drifted away mid sentence, and that her mind was clear.

Which is nice.

They each place a bouquet of spelled blue and white flowers on Lucretia's grave. They're all that's left, they're down two birds.

No one knows what to say, and Taako knows no one expects anyone to say anything.

They know.

They leave eventually, save for Davenport who sits down in front of the headstone and starts talking.

Something breaks a little, something inside Taako that has him clutching Kravitz's cloak with one hand and nearly snapping Lup's wrist with his other.

Lup doesn't let him near any kind of bottle that night, and she follows him into his room before he can slam the door shut.

"She wasn't angry with you," she tells him, knocking a pile of clothes off the vanity stool to sit down. Steven drifts through the door and settles in her lap. He lets out a few bubbles and Lup smiles softly at him.

Taako falls onto his bed in a heap, ears twitching in response to the sounds beyond his room. Kravitz and Barry are at the kitchen table, talking in low voices.

"And I know you weren't angry with her, not like you were before."

Lup waits a few moments before making her way closer to Taako. She pats his leg before sitting cross legged, grabbing one of his hands and squeezing it.

"I should have said something before she lost it."

"Taako, she wouldn't want you beating yourself up."

Taako remembers when he first met Lucretia.

He and Lup had been ecstatic at being two of the seven chosen for the mission, so much so that they hadn't given a damn about who else was on the roster. When they showed up to meet the rest of their team, he saw Lucretia standing against the wall, a book and pen in hand, eyes traveling back and forth across the room. Over the years, Taako and Lup had learned that even the most unassuming figure could pose a threat, and Lucretia was the most unassuming human he'd met at that point. However, the way she was observing the room caught his attention and he'd made a mental note to keep an eye on her.

She'd only made more powerful impressions later on.

"I don't think I ever said "sorry", not to her face, not outright."

"Taako-"

"I should have."

"She knew, Taako. You didn't cut off ties you know? You still spent time with her, she appreciated that. Just because you never had too many deep conversations with her doesn't mean I didn't. We talked about you a lot actually before..."

Whatever noise Taako lets out of his throat, it's almost a laugh, but it's closer to a sob than anything else.

Taako forces himself to sit up, head snapping back immediately as he accidentally pins his hair beneath his free hand.

Lup starts laughing and lets go of him so he can sit up properly.

The both of them sober up quick though and Taako speaks up.

"We're gonna be the last ones, Lulu, just you n' me 'n Barold n' Krav. Everyone else, 'poof' gone, and we're gonna _remember_ and we're gonna live out gods know _how many_ -"

"Taako," she frames his face in her hands and gives him a smile, "Your husband is death, me 'n Barry work with him, and all three of us work under the Raven Queen. You'll see them all again, for certain."

He leans forward, Lup's hands falling away from his face as his head hits her shoulder.

"Guess you're right," he says after a moment.

"Damn right I'm right."

* * *

Angus is an old man now, Taako doesn't look much different. The kid dual teaches; Monday and Tuesday he's at Lucas', then he's at Taako's school for the rest of the week. Taako reads the course evaluations, everyone loves him, his classes have a waitlist.

Taako's proud.

He's doing his rounds through the school, accompanied by Steven, having just left Ren's office. It's nearing the end of the day and he runs through the auditorium, the dueling ground, the field, the library, and he ghosts through a few classes. His timing is impeccable, despite what some may think, and he makes it to Angus' classroom just as the bell signaling the end of the day rings and the last students leave. They gawk a little as they pass Taako, and he gives them a wink before slipping through the doorway.

"'Sup, Agnes?"

No matter what, every time he sees Angus, his brain supplies a split second image of the little boy Taako met all those years ago on that hell train. A little boy with big glasses and a smart mouth who he's very glad to have met.

When the end of the world didn't happen, Angus stayed with him and Kravitz for the most part. Once Lucas' school was built, Angus stayed in the dorms, and once he became an adult, he got his own place, but he visited often. It was strange, watching him grow old. Angus grew taller, stronger, more than Magnus even, which was quite the spectacle when they all first realized. Taako never saw himself as a parent, not ever, but having Angus around certainly softened him up a bit. He'd sat with the kid through nightmares, made sure his first day of school was okay, accompanied him on a few cases he deemed dangerous, helped him with his studies despite the kid not really needing all that much help, and he taught him how to cook. He used to carry Angus on his shoulders or on his back and they'd go about their business, running errands or going shopping.

Now though, Angus is an old man. His glasses are bigger, his face tired, his hands shaky.

At least his smile is the same.

"Hello, sir, I wasn't expecting you today."

"Had some free time, figured I'd swing by." Taako sits on Angus' desk, crossing one leg over the other, leaning back to rest on his hands, careful to make it look careless despite not disturbing a single paper or pencil.

"Well, that was nice of you, sir."

"'s purely coincidental," Taako says as Angus takes a seat. "I gotta make sure this school is tip top, can't have any problem teachers damaging the reputation."

Angus just laughs.

"It's good to see you too."

"Yeah, yeah, tell me about your students, walk and talk."

They walk down to the kitchen as Angus tells him about a student of his who nearly set the classroom on fire. He tells Taako about the various programs he's been running, and the independent research he's been doing.

"It's really quite fascinating, sir," he starts.

Angus has been modifying spells for a while now, nothing earth shattering, but impressive all the same. Taako ran a frankly absurd number of PR events to boost Angus' works, but he knows that even if he hadn't, they would have done just fine. He just wanted to make sure everyone in their world got the chance to see what his best pupil had achieved.

Taako starts perusing the pantry while Angus talks and he can almost imagine that they're decades younger. After Angus' first day of school, he'd come back to Taako's, hopped up on a barstool and talked about a mile a minute while Taako was in the midst of a baking spree. It's a fond memory; Taako ended up with several tens of dozens of cupcakes and Angus had to ditch his glasses after they fell into a bowl of egg whites.

Taako takes off his hat once Steven floats into Angus' lap and he starts on the batter for chocolate muffins.

"In any case sir," Angus says, smiling at Steven, "how have you been?"

"Stellar. Just got back from a press tour a few days ago, made Steven a new bowl."

"I noticed, it looks very nice."

"Hell yeah it does, only the best for that little fish."

Angus laughs a little as Steven floats up to rest on his head.

There's a short pause as Taako stirs the batter.

"How have you been lately, Angus?" he asks, eyes fixed on the batter.

Maybe it's the use of his actual name but Angus takes a slow breath before he answers.

"If I'm being honest, I've been better, sir. But I'm okay, I'm not retiring any time soon, if that's what you're worried about," he says with an unsure laugh.

Taako almost chokes.

"Nah, I'm not worried about that, just wondering is all."

Angus reaches out, once small hands now the same size as Taako's own, and squeezes his arms.

"I'm not going anywhere, sir, I'm afraid you'll be stuck with me for a while longer."

Taako cracks a smile.

"Well, I'm a strong willed individual, I think I can handle that."

As it were, Taako's at home with Barry, half a glass of wine in his system when he gets a panicked call from Ren. Barry isn't as accomplished with time rift tears as Kravitz, but he's competent enough to get Taako to the school in a matter of seconds.

Image be damned, Taako doesn't give a flying fuck that he's only wearing short shorts and a tragically low cut top, he doesn't care that his hair is a mess and that it's currently home to a magic goldfish, he doesn't even care that he's only got one sock on. His wand is stuck in his bun and he pulls it out immediately, accidentally nudging Steven off his head. The fish floats towards Barry and rests on his shoulder.

"What happened?" Taako asks, speed walking out of the tear, Ren at his side.

"I called Merle, but one of the students said Angus was castin' a spell and just collapsed. He's breathin' but unresponsive, steady heartbeat. I looked him over but I couldn't figure out what was wrong, it doesn't look like he's injured, he's not bleedin'."

Merle steps through a rift a moment later, Lup and Kravitz at his side.

Taako gives Kravitz a look and the latter shakes his head.

Taako pushes past the students, tugging Merle along with him.

"Fix him!" he says, gesturing with his wand.

And Merle does, or he tries.

"There's nothing to fix," he says.

"What are you talking about? He's laid out on the floor, unconscious!"

Kravitz's hand falls on his shoulder.

"It's okay, he's in no danger, he'll come back soon. Taako, I promise, he's not dying, it's not his time yet. Let's take him home, get him comfortable, and we'll wait for him to wake."

"What-"

"His body is just weak," Kravitz says. "Let's just get him home."

Taako spends a minute torn, kneeling beside Angus and fearing the worst. He trusts Kravitz, knows that if he says Angus isn't dying, then Angus isn't dying. But Taako's always had an irrational sort of voice in the back of his head that's currently screaming.

He nods, casting a spell to make Angus lighter in order to carry him without issue.

Ren takes over Angus' class while Lup goes with Kravitz and Taako to take Angus home. Barry opens a tear for Merle before meeting up with them.

"Keep me posted," Ren says before the tear closes.

Angus' house is cozy, walls lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves, and furniture covered in handmade blankets that have certainly seen better days. His kitchen table is covered in old books and roles of parchment covered in his neat scrawl.

Taako carries Angus to his room and settles him in his bed before sitting down in the desk chair. The cabinet against the far wall is full of the trinkets that Angus has accumulated by his own skill, and the bevy of gifts his family has given him over the years. Merle gave him back the sheriff's badge after a while, and that sits beside a number of magical items that Taako outfitted him with before he started school.

On the top shelf is a silverware set.

Belatedly, Taako realizes the chair he's sitting in is the one Magnus made for Angus when the kid first moved. He'd refused to let Angus have any subpar furniture, and he'd made everything from the kitchen table to the couch to the bed frame. This chair was the first thing he'd made.

Lup and Barry leave him be, the former with a kiss to the top of his head. He's still underdressed and a mess, and Steven is floating into the room, a little slow. Taako's not sure what to do next.

Kravitz picks him up and sits down in the chair, settling Taako in his lap. He wraps his arms around Taako and sighs.

"Don't," Taako croaks.

"I'm sorry?"

"Don't tell me when it's his time, I don't wanna know. I know you know, and I don't wanna know when because that makes it real and-"

Kravitz squeezes him just a little.

"I understand. Would you like me to stay with you?"

"Yeah, but you were on a job weren't you? Only reason Barold wasn't because Queenie suspended him for a month, go. I'll be fine, I've got Steven. Just, uh, let me know how it goes."

He gets up, pulling Kravitz to his feet. Taako kisses him goodbye, and by the time the rift closes, Steven is floating in front of him.

He holds Steven to his chest and sits back down.

"What do you think?" Taako asks.

It hasn't even been a hundred years, he hasn't aged a day since they saved the world. But everyone around him?

He saw Magnus go from boundless energy to carefully rationed movement. Lucretia lived longer than anyone thought she would, but it was her mind that went first, going in pieces, broken up by shining moments of clarity.

Taako doesn't know if he can watch Angus die too.

Angus wakes up a few days later and Taako spends five whole minutes ranting about how they'd all thought the worst, and how dare Angus pull something like that. It's somewhere between "do you have any idea how worried I was?" and "I thought you were dying", that Taako breaks down in tears.

He's made it a point not to cry in front of Angus but his stress has been mounting with every hour that Angus hadn't opened his eyes. And now that he's awake, it's all crashing down on Taako at once.

Angus doesn't say anything for the longest while, just squeezes Taako's hand and smiles.

All the same though, Angus dies in the spring about a year and a half later. Taako temporarily moved in, brushing off accusations of care and claiming it would be no good for anyone if the old geezer fell and broke his hip. Taako all but begged him to stop teaching, the kid tried to continue but found his energy leaving him and eventually stepped down of his own accord. Angus had been doing worse, wasting away, though the bright light of intelligence never left his eyes. He assured Taako he was all right and that he knew "Mr. Kravitz will make sure I get over safely, it'll be okay,".

Except that it isn't.

Taako goes to wake him up in the morning.

Angus doesn't open his eyes.

Lup, Barry, and Kravitz work together to make sure Taako doesn't drown himself in grief. He doesn't want to leave his room, and the only one who has clear access into the depths of his lair is one particular agent of love.

Logically, Taako knew from the moment he first met Angus that the kid was going to die. He's a human, Taako's an elf. It's simple math. He'd gotten attached anyway, like an idiot. He'd given in after a few months of the kid living with him, and Angus was far from stupid, he saw through Taako in an instant.

And that's fine.

But it's different now.

With the exception of Barry, all the humans Taako has ever accepted into his life, a whopping three, are gone.

* * *

He spends some more time with Merle and, by extension, his adventure troupe.

It's a little strange, but Merle fills his role well, all the kids love him.

Mavis had attended Taako's school some time back and, after an adventure of her own, now teaches a class on alchemy and tinkering. Mookie is just like his father, minus the cleric bit, but his adventuring inclinations have served him well. Taako keeps up with the both of them. Mavis is a good teacher, and she's good for conversations, while Mookie never objects to a night of impulsive behavior, usually culminating into massive bonfires on the beachfront. Whenever Merle goes off with a senior troop, Mookie handles the junior adventurers, Taako figures he'll take command of the venture as a whole soon enough.

Taako takes a documented break to join Merle and a small group of his senior adventurers on a simple mission. He throws his possessions into a bag of holding and affixes the Krepstar to his side. He tucks his wand, a gift from Angus, behind his ear before putting on his hat so Steven can get settled. He hangs his stone of farspeech around his neck and kisses Kravitz goodbye before he goes.

It feels strange to be back in adventuring gear, not that he ever wore much to begin with, but he's not wearing heels anymore.

So, there's that.

Merle is looking a little worse for wear these days. It's to be expected, what with his running about all over the world, taking kids and teaching them how to fight. There are always injuries to be found. But Merle looks more than just bad, he looks _old_.

And he's always been old, as far as Taako can remember, sporting the gruff grandad look rather well.

It's just different.

Taako's on watch with a half elf. She's armed with a bow, and young though she is, there's a scar zigzagging up her left arm.

They don't talk much, but she takes to Steven easily enough. He has a new bowl, made specifically for adventuring, and he seems to like it well enough.

Merle is asleep, and Taako is almost shaking.

He remembers Angus going to sleep, there was always a dodgy chance that he'd wake up in the morning.

Merle isn't quite that close to dangerously old, but he's going to have to retire soon, if not for Taako's anxiety then for his daughter's peace of mind.

They end up on a mountain path by the next afternoon. Merle is in the lead alongside one of the students, a halfling wizard who looks a whole hell of a lot like Hurley. Two more students walk behind them, a goliath fighter and a human bard. Taako walks behind them alongside the half elf girl, she's a ranger. Steven sits happily atop Taako's hat.

Merle had been contracted to check out the remains of a razed mountain village, bring back the survivors, find and kill what's responsible if possible.

Easy enough.

They come upon the village as the sun starts to set.

The houses are all caved in, the center path through town littered with charred wagons and more than a few animal corpses. Taako thinks he can imagine what this town used to look like, and the cobbled together appearance he imagines reminds him of Refuge.

Merle casts Detect Traps, and the halfling wizard casts Detect Magic. They turn up nothing and they split into groups of three. Merle takes the wizard girl and the fighter, Taako takes the ranger and the bard. Each team takes one side of the center road, checking through houses and shops.

Steven stays put on Taako's hat, and Taako thanks every god he can think of that Steven didn't take to the 'rushes in' behavior model that Magnus was so fond of

Systematically, they clear each building until they come up on what was probably the town hall.

"Think they'll be in here?" Ranger Girl asks. "There are supposed to be survivors, aren't there?"

"That's what the head of the village said." Merle adjusts his grip on the X-treme Teen Bible and takes a half step forward. "Let's see what we can do, everybody keep your head on straight."

The adventure goes fairly well. Ranger Girl twists her ankle fighting the chimera monster that had holed up in the town hall. Bard Kid's ukulele pops a few strings, and Fighter Girl takes a shallow claw slash to her left leg. Wizard Girl is the only student unscathed. Merle told Taako to hang back, let the students handle the monster and step in only when something might go wrong.

There were three fairly young dwarves in a safe bunker beneath the town hall. There were enough supplies to keep them from starving, but one of them needed medical attention, which Merle took care of easily enough.

All in all, Taako finds himself reluctantly impressed.

Once they return the dwarves to the newly relocated village, and the students go home, Merle and Taako, plus Steven, go for drinks. It's a hole in the wall bar, frequented by travelers who just want something warm in their stomachs before they move on. They come often because it's quiet, no one pays any attention to the flashy elf and the one eyed, one armed dwarf.

As always, Steven settles into the seat between them.

"So, whatdya' think?" Merle asks him before downing half of his beer in one go. "Impressed?"

"Yeah, something like that." Taako says.

They talk about the mundane for well over an hour. Merle lets him ramble about the school, and Ren. He talks about Mavis and how well her class is doing, fills him in on what Lup and Barry and Kravitz are up to, he talks until his voice dies, then gestures for Merle to take the conversation.

And he does.

Merle talks about each of his students at length, the ones doing well, the ones doing… not so well. He talks about his kids for a good while before telling Taako about a ship trip he took with Davenport. He tells Taako about his most recent trip to where Magnus is buried, and another trip to visit Lucretia, far too many flowers in hand for both trips.

"So, how long has it been?" Merle asks.

They've both stopped drinking, Taako's holding tight to Steven instead of a mug. The bartender, a young half-orc woman, passes her gaze over them, a silent offer to refill their drinks but Taako shakes his head.

"Hmm?"

"Since we talked like this," Merle clarifies. There's a twinkle in his eye, one that says he has a clear idea for where this conversation is going.

Taako runs the numbers in his head and decides to guess instead.

"Hundred years? Maybe a little more, can't remember."

Their last long conversation was when Magnus died and Taako's not entirely fond of thinking back that far.

Merle taps out a little beat on the table and eases back in his chair.

"Well, it's a nice night, we can walk and talk."

Merle half tumbles out of his chair, landing awkwardly on his feet, before shrugging on a cloak. Taako stands and places Steven on his hat. He pays the bartender before Merle can even think to do so, and waves goodbye as they go.

"I don't think it needs to be talked about," Taako says, absently twirling his wand between his fingers.

"I think it does, kid." Merle pats his leg and Taako wishes he'd drop it.

Merle had pulled this the first go around, and Taako's not intent on repeating. He'd dodged further conversation easily enough, all but blinking out of existence on more than a few occasions.

But he's more than a little inebriated, and drunk casting isn't exactly the best course of action. Besides, he told Mavis he'd get Merle home in one piece.

"What exactly is there to talk about?" Taako asks. He stows his wand behind his ear and lifts Steven from his hat so he has something else to hold onto.

"My adventurers are real big fans of yours, you know? A lot of the magic ones look up to you. They like your show, and they're not the only ones. Lots of people love you, kid, not just for what those fishies put out there, but for everything you've done after."

"And?"

"You're not alone, is what I'm saying. Everybody dies eventually, some just go sooner than others, but we all end up in the same place. For as long as you'll live, you'll have people around you who love you. Your adoring public aside, you got your sister and Bluejeans, and Kravitz, and I doubt that lil' fish is gonna go anywhere without you. I know losing Mags and Lucretia and Angus has been hard on you but-"

Taako refuses to cry. He refuses. He's always been good at bottling things up, he holds on to every emotion that flits through him, as opposed to Lup who has no reservations about cluing people in to what exactly it is that she's feeling.

Two sides of the same coin and all.

He's not going to cry about this. It's been ages since Angus died, maybe a decade and a half shy of a hundred years. Even longer since Lucretia and Magnus.

"But what?" he finds himself asking, hot tears welling up as his voice takes on a sharp tone. "But what, Merle? They're gone, nothing changes that!"

Merle doesn't seem to take offense with his tone, he just sighs. He goes to take one of Taako's hands but they're both holding onto Steven, so Merle settles for patting his leg again.

"Listen, you gotta let yourself feel every once and a while, you know? Being sad is okay, you're allowed to grieve, no one's going to think any less of you for doing so."

Taako curses the fact that it takes quite a fucking lot for Merle to get piss drunk, and they haven't had nearly enough for him to get to that point. Merle is practically sober, maybe a little warm in the chest, while Taako's inhibitions are slashed by half and he's point two seconds from crying because Merle is trying his damndest to have a heart to heart.

Fuck.

"I don't care what other people think."

It's a big ass lie, they both know it is, Merle would have to be the biggest idiot in the planar system to believe him.

* * *

Taako gets the call from Mavis, her steely voice crackling through the stone of farspeech. He's only just gotten back from a meeting with Ren, renovations were needed after a few stray fireballs decimated a wing of the school. It was nothing major, but he's a little tired.

"I've told everyone to meet at the beach house," she says. Taako can recognize a front in an instant, he knows that Mavis is seconds away from tears. "Can you get here within the hour?"

Taako takes a deep breath and nods to himself.

"I got three people who can open rifts in space, I'll be there in no time. Just hang tight, kiddo."

Steven butts up under his chin, the water around him swirling a light purple as he swims about in a circle.

"Yeah, I know, buddy," he says. "No choice though."

"Taako, Mavis just- Oh, she called you?" Kravitz is half phased through the door, concern evident on his face.

"You ready to roll, babe?"

Steven settles on Taako's head before he can put his hat on, and Kravitz steps through the door completely. Taako's still dressed, boots still laced, makeup more or less fresh, he doesn't look like a disaster, which is fine.

"Are you?"

"Rockin' and rollin'."

Kravitz doesn't look at all convinced but he extends his hand for Taako to take. He opens a tear after summoning his scythe in his free hand.

The beach house is packed with Merle's kids, graduates and current students alike. Mavis greets them after a few moments, an 'Uncle Taako!' leaving her lips as she hands both him and Kravitz a wine glass.

"He wouldn't want us to be upset, so I figured drinks were in order," she says once they'd taken a sip. "Mookie's gonna handle the party stuff, he's always been good at that. Everyone else is drinking beer, I think one of his students brought whiskey. Um, we're going to move down the beach once everyone gets here. Then, uh, once his students leave, I figured we could have a small, for lack of a better word, ceremony, just us."

"Us?"

"Yeah, Mookie and myself, Dav, you and Uncle Krav, Uncle Bluejeans and Aunt Lup."

"Right," Taako says, draining the rest of his glass. "Sounds good, kiddo."

On any other day, Mavis would object to the 'kiddo', rolling her eyes before explaining just how old she is and how she's no longer a child. Taako figures she's making an exception today. She tells him that she'd called for a cleric earlier and they'd prepped the body, turning it to ash so he could be spread across the beach, as was his request. Once that had been done, she took some time to cry before preparing and calling everyone.

Davenport arrives just a short while after them, exuding fatigue, hands shaking as he seeks them out, Barry and Lup are behind him.

With Lup's help, Mookie gets most everyone in attendance into a better mood. They both give short speeches, talking about Merle and how he wouldn't want them mourning. 'Choose happiness' Mookie says in the middle of his speech. Taako clutches Steven to his chest and leans into Kravitz.

They move to the beach shortly after, Taako with another glass of wine and a half glass of whiskey in his system already. He sits with Barry and Kravitz in the sand, Steven somewhere in the crowd of Merle's students.

"I think he'd be pretty happy with this set up," Barry says after a few moments. He's not dressed in his reaper garb, but his red and black cloak is pulled tight against his shoulders. There's a slight chill in the air and Taako wonders if Barry's just reacting to the temperature out of habit.

A small explosion sounds and the three of them jump, only to find Lup and a couple of other students setting off a ridiculously large bonfire. A few of the students, bards from what Taako can tell, huddle together for a few minutes. One of them runs back to the house, returning a couple minutes later with various instruments in hand.

As they start playing, Taako throws back the rest of his whiskey, setting the empty glass in the sand. He stands up, still steady, and looks for Lup amongst the crowd. They're both fairly tall, but among Merle's students are goliaths and half-orcs so it's a little difficult.

It doesn't take too long though, and soon enough the two of them are dancing together, fast paced and somewhat carefree.

A bottle of brandy starts making its way through, enchanted apparently as it doesn't seem to empty. This time, he doesn't need Lup to police his drinking; the moment he realizes the bottle is enchanted, he passes it off to someone else and declines it the next time it comes back around.

He finds himself dancing with Kravitz soon enough, Lup and Barry are a short ways off, dancing like nobody's watching.

When the sun sets, Merle's students start to leave, drifting off in small groups or pairs, but no one goes home alone.

Then, it's just Davenport, Lup, Barry, Kravitz, and Taako on the beach. They make their way to the house, where Mavis sits on the porch clutching a simple box in her lap.

"Everyone ready?" she asks.

The bonfire still burns as they spread the ashes, throwing their shadows across the sand.

Taako doesn't remember his parents too well, he doesn't know if Lup does or not, the only family he remembers is his aunt, and his grandfather somewhat. But aside from them, he doesn't have any parental figures.

Merle fit the bill, somewhat anyway. He feels like the three of them, Merle, Magnus, and himself, maintained a sort of brotherhood before they got their memories back. Prior though, those hundred years, Merle was like a strange dad, or an uncle maybe? But it was fine, Taako won't admit to it aloud, but it was fine.

They sit around the bonfire afterwards, it's burned down to a modest fire by this point, and Davenport passes around a bottle of wine.

The pass the time until sunrise telling stories, Mavis supplying most of them but asking questions she's never gotten the answer to. Mookie is unusually quiet through the exchange, Taako doesn't blame him though.

When morning comes, Mavis and Mookie are going to take a break, go sailing with Davenport for a little while. By extension, the adventuring troupe is getting a break too.

The kids leave with Davenport, and Taako stops where he stands to watch them go. Their captain is getting on in years, and though Taako's never asked his specific age, he knows that Davenport doesn't much time left.

"Taako, come on," Lup puts her arm around his shoulder, gently nudging him along. "Let's get home."

He resists, slightly, just until he hears Davenport laugh at something Mavis says, then gives in to Lup's nudging.

Kravitz opens a tear and they step into Taako's living room.

It's well into the morning now so Taako drags Lup into the kitchen to help him make breakfast. Barry and Kravitz talk business at the island while they wait, their cloaks on the rack, Kravitz's scythe vanished, and their reaper attire changed to comfortable house clothes. Taako's still dressed for business, having come straight from his meeting, but he doesn't care.

If the lot of them didn't smell like booze, it would be strangely domestic.

Well, his life has been strangely domestic for a while now, so maybe it's not so different from normal.

* * *

It's later that night, Taako surrounded by paperwork and Lup sitting behind him braiding his hair, when he asks.

"Do you know?"

"I know a lot of things, gotta be more specific," Lup says, undoing the braid and starting again.

"Do you know when Dav's gonna die? Did you know when the others were going to?"

He knows Kravitz at least has a timeframe, that he can give estimates in years, but not to the day, hour, minute, second. But he's never asked Lup or Barry, either because he never thought to or because he was avoiding an answer he feared.

Lup's fingers go still in his hair for only a moment before he starts combing through, more gentle than she ever has.

"No, me an' Barold don't know. You already know that Kravitz knows, but we asked specifically not to have any knowledge of our friends. To be honest, I'm not sure we were ever gonna' get that info, but better safe than sorry."

She starts braiding again, tying it off when she's done. She rests her chin on his head, practically slumping over him.

"I'm not a mind reader, Taako, what's going on?"

"Just thinking."

"Dangerous stuff, be careful."

He smacks her lightly with a packet of papers, smiling when she giggles.

"Seriously, Taako."

"I've already told you, we're gonna be the last ones. Once Davenport- once he's gone, it's just gonna be us."

She eases back, pulling him along with her and away from the paperwork.

"It's been just us before, you know?" she says after a moment. "Now we've got Barry and Krav. Plus we've got Ren, Mavis and Mookie, and Steven."

Taako's gaze drifts to the fish in question. Steven's been resting atop the pile of already finished paperwork, his water a light purple and shimmering in the flickering light.

"So, you've got people, Taako," she says. "We're not going anywhere."

He allows himself to relax against her, stretching one of his hands up to find her face, patting it awkwardly.

"Thanks, Lulu."

* * *

The coffee house is moderately packed, but Taako's secured the corner table for himself and Ren. They're both three and a half coffees in, half way through a batch of cookies, no doubt getting crumbs on their notes. Steven is floating around the shop, hovering near the half elf manning the counter. Taako looks up occasionally to check in on him, making sure he's not gotten into any trouble.

"What do you think of me working full-time?" he asks.

Ren chokes, coughing for a moment before righting herself.

"Sorry?"

"I've substituted before. I could take on a dueling class, there's been an influx of kids wanting to take the class anyhow, we could use an extra body."

"What about your show?"

"Taking a break," he says, draining the last of his coffee and waving his hand for another. "Besides, I know you've been trying to find the right hire to add to the staff. Budget's not an issue, I don't need a paycheck. You don't have to run background checks-"

"I'm not tryna' question that, Taako, I know you'd be a good fit, and the kids would love to have you," Ren reaches to take on of his hands. "But is this really somethin' you want to do? Last time you subbed, we got wine drunk in the lounge after hours and you told me we ran a school full of brats who have problems with authority."

"I can't be held accountable for the things I said when I was drunk," he says, watching to gauge Ren's reaction. It gets a small smile out of her at least, but she doesn't let go of his hand. "'Sides, you know me, I exaggerate, flair for the dramatic, right? Anyway, I just need to do something."

He ruffles Ren's hair, taking his hand back once he's done so in order to right his hat.

One of the staffers, a dragonborn woman with a scar on her exposed bicep, brings over two more coffees, and Taako sips on his after cooling it down some.

He's been going stir crazy lately. The house feels empty most days, and though his show hasn't lost its luster, he's not getting the same buzz that he usually does. The only good thing to come out of this is that he's finished most of his paperwork, and some of Ren's too. He's found the time to get parts of the school renovated, he's remade the dueling field, gave the go ahead to start an enchanted garden at the behest of one of his alumni, and he's expanded the course material. He's spent more time at the school than he ever did before, popping into classes, offering assistance for grading, taking over club activities, but he needs something that's going to eat up his time.

"All right then," Ren says. "I can have you officially on my rosters by tomorrow. Do you already have the course mock ups?"

"Outlines, yeah, I can finalize them tonight."

They're on break now, classes start again in couple of months. Ren's been up to her ears in applications, and they're prepping for a faculty meeting to work out courses and materials. Following that, they have a budget meeting, but that's more of a formality than anything else.

Steven drifts back to them, taking up his usual spot on Taako's hat.

"We still on for dinner?" Ren asks as they pack up.

"Yeah, moved to Barold and Lup's place though."

"Somethin' happen at yours?"

"Krav's going through- can immortal beings go through midlife crises? Anyway, I came home from a book tour to find everything under renovation, tarps and dust fuckin' _everywhere_ , Ren, you wouldn't believe it. He's almost over it, everything just smells weird right now, not bad just new and weird, plus I gotta put my touch on it, it's not fit for company."

"Oh, I believe it," she says. "It's about time that man had a breakdown, he's too damn composed whenever I see him."

Taako snorts at that. Kravitz puts on a pretty good front for anyone outside of their little family, and Ren's included in that, but she hasn't been privy to some of Kravitz's more embarrassing all-star moments.

"All righty then, I'll be seein' you this weekend." Ren pulls him into a hug, pushing onto her tiptoes to kiss Steven's bowl before disappearing down the street.

"See ya."

He takes the long, not magical, way home, keeping up a steady conversation with Steven the whole way.

Predictably, the house is empty when he arrives. He's been waiting to go shopping until Kravitz gets back. Given their dinner plans, hopefully they'll be done in the next day or so. They've been on call for the past month, handling little problems that crop up. Despite the time that's gone by, the Raven Queen is still breaking Lup and Barry in with necromancers and cults. Lup asked when they'd get to hunt liches and all she got was a laugh.

Taako lets Steven drift where he wishes and goes to his room, kicking off his boots and hanging his hat on the bedpost.

It's edging into evening, he has a few options for how to spend his time.

Application essays, course mock-ups, personal paperwork, he could always catch up on some reading. He has Angus' collection, all set up neatly on shelves in the kid's old room, he hasn't worked his way through all of them yet.

Taako changes into house clothes, something that straddles the line between functional outfit and pajamas, and wanders into the kitchen. Steven is settled in the fruit bowl but floats over once he sees Taako.

"What's up, lil' guy?"

Actual food is probably a good idea but Taako just grabs a bottle and wine glass. He sets himself up at the island and takes a swig straight from the bottle before pouring some out properly.

He shuffles some papers around, separating work from personal before uncorking a bottle of ink. Steven floats up onto Taako's shoulder and nudges up at his jaw.

"I asked what's up," Taako says with a chuckle, holding his hand palm up and waiting for Steven to roll into it. The little fish does so, bubbling and swimming in a circle. "You don't say?"

Steven keeps him from paperwork, floating up and around to push at Taako's back.

"All right, all right, where to?"

They end up in Angus' room, Steven hovering over an old book. Taako sighs and picks it up, taking a seat in one of the arm chairs.

"Okay," Taako sets his still full wine glass on the side table and cracks open the book. Steven rests beside Taako's face, his water swirling from lavender to pink as he settles down.

He reads aloud, occasionally glancing at Steven to see if he's still entertained. It's an adventure book, one that Angus would read to Steven on occasion. It's a series of loosely connected tales, ranging from a novice dragon fighter to a legendary hero.

Taako makes it through four chapters before he hears a familiar tearing sound.

"Taako?"

"Angus' room, babe, welcome back."

Kravitz looks worn out, eyes tired and body tense. He's not wearing his cloak, and his clothes smell like smoke and musty cave stink. Altogether unpleasant, but Taako accepts a kiss.

"Rough time?" he asks, slipping a bookmark into place.

"You could say so."

Taako picks up Steven and stands, cupping Kravitz's cheek with one hand.

"Go clean up, you smell gross. I'll make some food. Barold and Lulu with you?"

"No, they're at their place, Barry was ready to drop last I saw him."

Taako goes to the kitchen, setting Steven in the fruit bowl, and gets to making something simple. He moves his paperwork off the island and to the table instead

Kravitz is presentable before Taako's done cooking, and he takes a seat at the island.

"How was it?" Taako asks.

"Long story short, the only liches I like are your sister and her husband."

"Ah, that bad?"

"Worse." Kravitz props himself up with one hand, but he's practically slumped over.

When the food is done, Taako takes down another wine glass, filling it for Kravitz before taking a seat beside him.

"Tell me all about it."

* * *

It's be some miracle, Taako thinks, that everyone has passed peacefully.

They're at Lup and Barry's, the latter talking with Ren while Taako works the kitchen with Lup. Kravitz is with Steven, inspecting the runes on the brass band around the fish's bowl. They sit down and Taako doesn't bother trying to hold back his happiness.

It's been far too long since they've all sat together and enjoyed each other's company, nothing looming over them.

They talk about Ren and Taako's upcoming plans for the school, and about the necromantic cults that the reapers have been squashing left and right. Steven floats from person to person, always settling the longest on Taako before moving on.

Their stones of farspeech crackle to life when Lup and Taako get up to bring dessert to the table.

Almost instantaneously, the six of them arrive at the docks where Davenport stays. He lives in his boat for the most part, he stays with Mavis and Mookie when he's on land.

They rush on board, seeing Mookie first before seeing Mavis with a cleric through a doorway.

"He was doing real bad," Mookie says. "He got back from a trip and was fine, but he got sick. May's in there with him now, said he went like Aunt Lucy did, just drifted off."

Steven floats to Taako's chest and he absently wraps his arms around the ball. He feels Kravitz's hand on one of his shoulders, and Ren's head on his other. Lup and Barry push forward into the room with Mookie but Taako can't make himself move.

They're talking with Mavis and the cleric, Lup is already crying and Barry is starting to tear up. The cleric shakes his head, shakes Mavis' hand then exchanges a few words with Barry. Lup is kneeling at the bedside and Taako's eyes finally settle on Davenport.

Davenport's always been full of life, a sparkle in his eyes, energy humming about him.

Now?

Taako takes one step past the threshold, still holding Steven.

This, somehow, this is harder than all the others.

When Magnus died, at least there was Lucretia, at least there was Angus, Merle, Davenport. All the way down the line. Now they're at the end of the line and there's no one else.

They each spread a handful of ashes over the water. Mavis and Mookie spent enough time with Davenport that they know how to steer the boat. Taako remembers a little from the trip he took several centuries ago and does everything he can to keep busy.

With a bit of fancy casting, they get Davenport's ship to the hiding place of the StarBlaster, the latter still banged up. Davenport had done enough repair that it wouldn't fall apart, but he vowed never to pilot it again. He'd left the battle scars and left the stories they told.

And now his other ship rests beside it.

They make the trek to where Lucretia's buried in relative silence. Lup and Barry tell her what's happened while Ren and Taako get to work setting up Davenport's marker, placing it beside Lucretia's. Mavis and Mookie keep back with Kravitz, the former holding onto Steven.

As a group, they return to Lup and Barry's house, pulling extra chairs up to the table. Lup brings out the dessert and Taako brings out the booze. Like they had with most everyone else, they tell stories. Lup and Barry tell them stories about when they were training at the IPRE, and when they first met Davenport.

Taako keeps to himself, only speaking to answer a question. For the most part though, he stays quiet, nursing some whiskey and holding Kravitz's hand under the table.

He offers to take Mavis and Mookie home, however, waving off the offer of a space tear, opting for the long way. Steven lets Mookie hold him, while Mavis worries her sleeves through her fingers.

"If you two need it," Taako says when they arrive, "you're always welcome at my place. The others are working most days so it's just me and Steven, he likes the company."

Mookie lets go of the fish, opting instead to throw his arms around Taako, squeezing him uncomfortably tight..

"Thanks, Uncle Taako," he says. "I'll take you up on that."

The hug lasts and Taako's about to complain about lack of breath before Mookie finally lets him go and runs inside. Mavis lets out a little sigh, but chuckles as Steven nuzzles up against her cheek.

"Thanks, buddy," she whispers. She moves to pull Taako into a hug as well, but it's not as bone crushing as her brother's. "Ren said you'll be teaching now."

"I am."

"I have some paperwork I need to go over, mind if I drop by next week?"

"Yeah, kiddo, whenever you want. Let me know ahead of time though, I'll whip something up foodwise."

"Okay, thank you. Goodnight, Uncle Taako, get home safe."

"I will, try to get some sleep."

* * *

Taako's always nervous when his three favorite people go off to do their thing. Too many times he's seen Lup and Barry laid out during their journey on the StarBlaster, he doesn't like seeing it now. Everyone else had settled into, more or less, safe professions. Magnus ran a dog school, Lucretia did what amounted to office work, Taako opened a school, Davenport retired, and even Merle's adventuring was cakework when compared to the Hunger.

But Lup and Barry became Reapers.

He gets even more worried when they're out of their physical bodies.

As creepy as it is to have those green tanks just chilling in their house, Taako likes to know that they're there. They remind him that even if Lup and Barry get hurt, they can always come back. However, there are ways to kill liches, he's seen it happen with Edward and Lydia. He's seen it in old research, in old books, heard it in old tales. There are ways to destroy liches.

After a close call, Lup and Barry entrusted their phylacteries to Taako. On the off chance that the shitty necromancers they deal with manage to beat them, they can regroup with Taako keeping them safe.

He's in the middle of class, Steven patrolling around the students, keeping everyone in line. His voice carries across the field without the use of magic, and he always holds one hundred percent of his students' attention. They're working through the use of offensive spells, having just finished defensive maneuvers the day previous.

Taako feels two somethings get very hot within his pocket and he nearly trips in surprise. Steven is at his side in a moment and the class stops around him.

Without a moment's hesitation, he amplifies his voice to shout across the dueling field. Ruthy is one of their other dueling teachers, and Othina is on the field all the time as their designated cleric. He doesn't give them an explanation, just tells them to take over his class as he breaks into a run towards his office.

With Ren's help, and a few others, Taako had a transportation circle installed within his office, connecting to the one that he'd put in his house.

In a matter of minutes, he and Steven are standing in Angus' room.

Taako drops to the floor, digging into his spelled pocket to pull out two amulets. Each one has the IPRE symbol on it, though one is marred by scorch marks. He holds them in one hand, and with the other he tries calling Kravitz on the stone of farspeech.

Nothing but static.

"No, gods, Kravitz, please."

He keeps trying, but there's no response.

Steven presses up against his cheek and Taako latches onto him, hugging the ball tight to his chest as he starts to hyperventilate.

Lup and Barry are supposed to be safe. They were in lich form when they left, new bodies growing in their tanks, almost done. Taako made them swear they'd be safe, just like he always does. Their skilled casters, and they have Kravitz.

They're supposed to be fine.

They're the ones that Taako is supposed to have forever. Everyone else is gone but Lup and Barry _can't die._ He's lost them both before, countless times aboard the StarBlaster, and once more when Lucretia fed their journey to Fisher. It doesn't make it any easier. His plan was to be the first to die. He wasn't supposed to lose anyone else after Davenport. Ren is younger than he is, and her job is safe, she's not in danger. Kravitz, quite literally, cannot die, while Lup and Barry are damn near immortal.

He knows they'll come back after a week or so. But that's a week where he won't have his sister or his brother. That's far too much time in Taako's book.

He's crying, openly, makeup running down his face, and he doesn't care. Steven's water turns dark blue as he bubbles and glows.

Taako clambers up into the armchair, curling tight around Steven.

He keeps trying with the stone of farspeech, but every time it's just static. His worry mounts. Logic says that their stones were destroyed, but the hysteria claims him first, feeding him thoughts that Kravitz isn't responding because he'd been hurt, he'd been captured, _something._ He has to remind himself, Kravitz is capable, and the Raven Queen won't let her favorite go so easily.

Gods, when Lup and Barry get back, Taako's not letting them out of his sight for a long while. He'll fight the Raven Queen, he doesn't care, there's no way he's letting them take any kind of job until they're back in their bodies and have been for some time.

He cries himself out eventually, the amulets still warm to the touch. Steven presses against and up Taako's cheeks, smearing mascara against the glass. Now that he's looking at it, the outside is a mess of tears and smudges of makeup.

"Come on," Taako sniffles, "let's get you cleaned up."

Steven floats just out of reach and his water swirls red.

"Taako's fine, lil' buddy, just needed that out of my system."

In truth, he's still sitting down because he fears that he'll fall flat on his face if he tries to stand.

"I promise." Taako holds out his hand as if for a high five. After a moment, Steven's water swirls back to a light purple and he bumps against Taako's palm.

They settle in Taako and Kravitz's room, Steven hovering just above the comforter until Taako sets an old t-shirt down for him.

He's halfway through cleaning Steven's glass when the sound of tearing reaches him. His ears twitch so violently he winces in pain before scrambling to his feet. No sooner has he thrown open the door than Kravitz is there, arms around Taako and shaking.

"I'm so sorry," he whispers, squeezing Taako tight. "Our stones of farspeech got shattered, and Lup rushed ahead, and Barry followed her, I got-"

"I have them, they're safe," Taako says, voice much too shaky. He buries his face in Kravitz's chest as a new wave of tears floods down his cheeks.

They stay like that for a few minutes before Taako leans back still keeping his arms around Kravitz.

"Sit down with me," he says, tugging Kravitz toward the bed. "Steven's great but he doesn't hug back."

Taako's trying his best, he's already had one breakdown today, he'll probably have one more once everything settles. But he'd like to save face as much as possible until then.

He settles in Kravitz's lap intent on finishing his task of cleaning Steven's bowl. Kravitz's arms loop around Taako's waist, his head resting against the base of Taako's neck.

"I can take some time off," Kravitz says, "at least until they're back. My queen has other reapers she can spare."

Kravitz offers to make dinner that night, and though Taako knows it's going to be abysmal, he doesn't protest. Taako doesn't think he could keep himself up on his own, and he refuses to let go of the amulets. The chains of both are securely wrapped around his left hand, the amulets themselve clutched tight. His fingers are starting to ache but he doesn't care.

The food is edible, at least, Kravitz opted for simple, so the margin for error was smaller. They sit on the couch, Taako practically glued to Kravitz's side.

"I'm sorry, love, really." Kravitz presses a kiss to Taako's head, letting his lips linger a moment.

"It doesn't taste that bad, don't worry about it."

"Taako."

He knows exactly what Kravitz meant, that doesn't mean he has to acknowledge it. He doesn't answer, just turns his face into Kravitz's shoulder and sighs.

"I have to teach tomorrow," he says at last. "You should come, I talk about you a lot, all trash talk by the way, you could meet the kids. They're good kids, thought some of them need an attitude check. Me n' Ruthy are gonna combine classes. She's the one who does weapons fighting, so we thought it'd be good for everyone to get some variety, spice it up, you know? Have you seen the greenhouse yet? We just did renovations, Mavis is heading the upkeep, but one of our alumni has done wonderful things with it, druids, man, you wouldn't bel-"

"Taako."

After a moment, Taako looks up from Kravitz's shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Taako imagine she doesn't paint the most believable picture, but he tries.

"It's nothing new, this isn't the first time those two idiots have gone off and gotten themselves- anyway, I'm fine, Krav."

He doesn't say 'I promise' because he tries not to break the promises he makes nowadays. And Kravitz knows that, so he knows why Taako didn't say it.

Taako's gaze flicks down to the amulets still in hand. They've gone cold now, but they're glowing, Lup's a brighter shade of red bursting through the blackened scorch marks.

It's about time for that second breakdown.

Without letting go of the amulets, Taako throws his arms around Kavitz's neck, sliding into his lap and ducking his head to Kravitz's neck. Kravitz is still pretty cold but Taako doesn't really care, shaking and crying as Kravitz's arms wrap around him.

"Okay, okay, Taako, I have you."

Steven does his best to squeeze in as well, as much as he comfortably can, but doesn't try to make Taako hold him.

Taako starts mumbling, telling Kravitz about how, when they were younger, Lup had gone off on her own once. They were exploring a patch of forest and she'd wandered off while Taako was in a tree. Upon seeing she'd vanished, he'd panicked, and fallen out of the tree. She'd heard him scream and got him back to their aunt so she could fix him up. He tells Kravitz about how, during their journey, he was afraid that once Lup got together with Barry, she'd leave him. All the same he wanted her to be happy so he'd put that aside. He talks about how he felt when Magnus, Lucretia, and Angus died, and how he hates that humans don't live forever.

"I have these students," he says after a few beats of silence. "They're both human, but one of them is a druid, they'll live even longer than me. That's shitty."

Kravitz spares one hand to finger comb through Taako's hair, not saying a word because he knows Taako's not done yet.

"I mean, that's just- ugh. I'm grateful we've got some great creators, hail to Jeffandrew and all, but it's shitty. And I know that my circumstance is better than most, my people are just chillin' on the other side but that's not the case for everyone else! We gotta live out these stupidly long lives while everyone dies around us and it's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. What do I even _do_ for that long? This is why nobody likes elves, you know? A lot of 'em are uppity or dull and it's because they've existed for _centuries_."

Taako sighs and picks his head up just enough to nudge at Kravitz's jaw. His body has warmed up by now, and Taako's not so tense, more tired than anything now.

"Hey," he says.

"Yes?"

"Take me to Ango's room?"

In one smooth motion, Kravitz shifts him into a bridal carry and stands up. Taako rests his head on Kravitz's shoulder and lets Steven settle in his lap. They make their way to Angus' room and Kravitz pulls a book from the shelf before sitting down in the armchair.

* * *

Taako goes to sleep, just getting over a ridiculous flu, feeling unusually exhausted. He burrows beneath the comforter, leaving space for Steven, and tries to relax. Sometimes he finds himself thinking that he has classes to plan for but that time is long behind him. He might still stop by the school though. Ren finally has her own dueling class, no longer cooped up in her office, and he figures he should sit in.

Well, he'll decide in the morning.

He closes his eyes.

The room around him looks like a bigger, better version, of Angus' room at his house. The shelves are floor to ceiling, the books are older, bigger, and he can feel the magic radiating off of them. He can't tell just how big the room is, but there's nothing but massive bookshelves all around him. The wood of the shelves is dark, with little gold plates every so often with some kind of file system marker etched into it.

It's a hardwood floor, but there are thick rugs every few feet. Looking up affords him a view of stained glass panels and what looks like a sky light in the very center. The space above him is also home to several books, moving about as sentient beings, fillings in gaps between the books still on the shelves.

He moves on, trying to get a feel for this place. There are no alarms going off in his head, he actually feels a lot better than he has in a long while. After nearly an hour of wandering, he comes to an intersection of sorts. There's a massive square of carpet taking up the space, a couch, and an armchair with its back toward him.

Curious, Taako reaches for his wand, slipping it from the holster just in case.

He takes a few long strides until he's directly in front of the chair, and he drops his wand.

The kid looks like Taako's always remembered him. Dressed to the nines in fancy clothes, glasses magnifying his eyes, small hands clutching a book that's bigger than his head.

"It took you long enough, sir. I know you're no detective, but all you had to do was keep walking forward." The book moves, a strip of ribbon slid carefully into place between the ribbons.

And there's Angus.

Taako grabs him, pulling him close and holding him tight. Angus is most certainly not touching the chair now, nor is he touching the ground. He does, however, touch the latter when Taako drops to his knees, letting go of Angus to cup the kid's face.

Angus is smiling, a bubble of laughter as he takes up a loose hold on Taako's wrists.

"Hello, sir," he says.

"Hey, Agnes."

Taako takes a moment to try and dry his eyes before he gives up and pulls Angus into another hug.

"You shouldn't cry, sir, it's really weird when you do."

"Shut up, I haven't seen you in hundreds of years, I'm allowed this."

"That's true," Angus says, patting Taako's back. "But we _really_ should be going. Like I said, it took you long enough, everyone's been waiting."

"Everyone?" Taako hiccups.

"Well, yeah, you have _other_ friends besides me, sir."

Angus picks up his wand and hands it back before taking a few steps and stopping suddenly.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

He holds out his hand and Taako's about to ask him what he wants when Steven appears, without his ball, and swims happily toward Taako.

"Wha-"

"You were supposed to come together, but I guess you wandered off, and even then, Steven got here before you did. He just wanted a dramatic entrance since he didn't get one when you initially arrived."

"So, just to be clear, kid, just clarifying. I am…"

"Dead, yes, sir, I thought that obvious."

"Hey, look, I've seen a lot of weird shit, okay?" Taako sniffles and wipes at his eyes again. "This coulda been a fever dream."

"It's not."

Angus takes his hand and begins to guide him across the floor. They pass by a shelf just at Taako's eye level and he nearly trips.

There's no way he could forget what Lucretia's journals look like.

But Angus just continues to tug him along until they reach a door that looks suspiciously like the door to his house.

"Well, here we are, sir. Mr. Kravitz, Aunt Lup, and Mr. Barry are already here, they've been keeping the peace so to say. Are you ready?"

Taako's chest is tight, even with Angus' hand in his, and even with Steven hovering within his field of view.

"Yeah, I think so."

And Angus opens the door.

* * *

I enjoy writing sad things.

I played calvinball a little with lich phylacteries but like, the taz universe allows for that much, I think. In any case, this was a labor of love so I hope you liked it, let me know what you think!


End file.
